Dear Friends
Today is Advent Sunday. This is when we remember the coming of Jesus into this world. The Scriptures tell us that His 2 nd coming will be with great power and in great glory!
Today is the 5th week since Mee Hwa has been diagnosed with Stage IV Lung adenocarcinoma. It has been challenging, to say the least, adjusting to new priorities while juggling between different demands and responsibilities. Thankfully, we have been supported and cared for by so many wonderful people through practical assistance, care and encouragement- Mee Hwa's close personal friends, Pearly, Peter, Staff members and various others from St Paul's, church friends from St George's, SJSM and elsewhere, our beloved Cambodian brethren, family members, and many more others who quietly support us in the background. We are truly indebted to all of you for your love and kindness. Above all, may I especially thank you for faithfully upholding Mee Hwa in your constant prayers. The last update sent out was that of 13 th Nov. There have been several encouraging developments since and good reasons to give thanks and praise to God for. Hallelujah! We can see our Lord's gracious hand at work.
UPDATE:
1. Mee Hwa has completed her 10 sessions of radiotherapy last Wednesday the 21st Nov and appeared to have made good progress. The results were that the intensity of the headaches had been significantly reduced immediately thereafter. These have subsequently disappeared altogether since Sunday the 25 th Nov. All praise and thanks be to God!
a) Mee Hwa continues to be on the steroid(dexamethasone) to reduce inflammation in her brain lining. The dosage was halved on Saturday 24 th Nov (to one 4mg tablet a day) and further halved (to 2mg a day) from the 1st Dec onwards for a week.
b) Mee Hwa has stopped taking the painkiller tramadol altogether since completing radiotherapy. With the headaches having subsided significantly, she began to sleep very much better as a result. Her appetite has also returned and she has since been eating rather voraciously. We were informed that this was also likely to be due to the steroid(dexamethasone) she is on.
c) One unavoidable outcome of the radiotherapy was hair loss. The good news is that her hair is expected to re-grow in due course.
2. Mee Hwa has begun taking one 150mg Tarceva tablet once a day since the 22nd Nov. This is the orally targeted therapy. Unlike chemotherapy, it will only deal with the cancerous cells. This again is a systemic treatment which has been known to show good results. Mee Hwa has an outbreak of pimples/acne as a side effect. We were told that this was desirable as it shows that the drug is working.
3. According to the oncologist, Mee Hwa's MRI of her spine did not show any visible compromise and her spinal cord sheath looked normal, thus there was no need for the Lumber Puncture(LP) to extract the Cerebral Spinal Fluid(CSF) for analysis. Thank the Lord that her CSF and spinal cord have been preserved and that she has been spared the painful LP procedure.
4. As said, Mee Hwa has been eating very well and has managed to put on quite a bit more weight, thanks once again to all the wonderful food and nourishing juices she has been supplied with by friends, Church people and relatives. She has been able to move her bowels normally for over a week without the aid of a laxative(lactulose). Praise the Lord!
5. Lina and Pisey who had arrived from Cambodia since Sunday night(11th Nov) have just returned back on the 30th Nov. Nari has already arrived since the 26 th Nov to take over for a month. Sara has also returned to S'pore at the same time. Our Cambodian brethren continue to provide much comfort and encouragement to Mee Hwa besides practical assistance. We want to praise the Lord too for friends who have made it possible for them to spend time with Mee Hwa!
PRAYER:
May I kindly request that, using Advent as a theme, you would pray for the in-breaking of the Lord's power and authority into Mee Hwa's life that would result in a miraculous healing work to her body. Pray for a powerful visitation of the Lord and a mighty intervention of the Holy Spirit into her condition. Is there anything too difficult for the Lord? Please would you kindly continue to persist in prayer together with us for Mee Hwa's complete physical healing.
Please pray for the following:
1 Treatment:
a. Pray for the Holy Spirit to continue to breathe new life into Mee Hwa daily and bring wholeness and healing to her.
b. Pray for the treatment with Tarceva that this will produce lasting healing effects . Pray too for the Lord's protection over Mee Hwa's vital organs against any ill and undesirable effects from the treatment. Pray for protection over Mee Hwa's entire body, especially her brain and the Central Nervous System from any infection or injury and that her CSF will be free from cancerous activity or cells.
c. Pray against any possible spinal cord compression caused by the cancer cells weakening her thoracic and lumbar vertebrae. Signs being numbness and weakness in her lower limbs or incontinence in her bowels or bladder. So far, there has been no pain in her bones. We praise and thank the Lord for this but would continue to covet your prayers.
2 Mee Hwa:
a. Praise the Lord that the migraines/headaches have gone. Please pray that Mee Hwa will continue to enjoy more and more a general sense of well-being daily. The vomiting and nausea have stopped. Please pray that this will continue to be that way from now on. Praise be to God!
b. Pray that Mee Hwa gets high quality and refreshing sleep each night and is well-rested. Pray that she will enjoy her rest in the Lord's presence and wait patiently for the fullness of His healing to be released on her. Pray that she will be physically strengthened to face and to overcome all odds in this battle against the ailment. Pray for God's strength and His all-sufficient grace to sustain Mee Hwa at all times.
c. Praise the Lord that Mee Hwa is able to eat and enjoy a wide variety of food as she is no longer struggling to keep food down. She needs to continue to receive good physical nourishment. Praise the Lord for the many friends and loved ones who have come round with all sorts of nutritious food, soups, juices etc to feed her. Also, for all those who have been blessing and helping in many practical ways that they too will be blessed and refreshed in the Lord daily.
d. Praise the Lord for the many encouragements, prayers and testimonies she continues to receive from all of you(cards, notes, emails etc) and from those who have ministered to and shared with Mee Hwa too. These have helped and encouraged her and us so much.
3 Wai Mung and Sara:
a. Sara has returned to Singapore as planned on the 26th Nov. Praise the Lord that she has had a blessed and enjoyable time renewing ties with loved ones, friends and relatives in Phnom Penh. Pray that she will find ways and means to
b. Wai Mung has been able to begin to adjust to a new work pattern under the current circumstances. Please pray for wisdom and strength daily to cope with these changes. Pray also that he will have time to relax and be recharged in the midst of all that is happening without sacrificing quality care and time with Mee Hwa. Pray that the Lord will keep them in good health all the time.
c. Pray for the Lord's blessings and grace to be upon them as a family.
Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer!
God Bless!
Wai Mung, Mee Hwa and Sara
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Rev Mok Wai Mung
Vicar
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